04/16/2017
So, as most of you know, my mother died last month. After the funeral, the family gathered at my brother's house to kind of get away from things for a few hours. As it turns out, we ended up going through hundreds of photos that were at Mom's house. We spent hours laughing, crying and remembering. It reminded me of something I intuitively understand as a photographer. Photos keep memories and loved ones alive. Long after the wedding cake has been eaten (even the nasty top layer on your first anniversary) and the flowers have dried up, the photos will remain. Once you are off to college, those senior photos you didn't want to have taken will still be there capturing you at a very special time of your life. Photographs are a tangible marker of the most important times of a lifetime. Do me a favor. Print the most significant photos. Whether on your phone, iPad, Facebook account, print them and safeguard them. Treasure them. Take those collections of 1s and 0s and turn them into a physical manifestation of special memories. Digital media is great and has really made capturing events easy. Just don't forget to make them permanent for the next generation or the one after that. Had digital media existed when I was growing up, I wonder how many of the photos we love today would even exist. Live your lives to the fullest. Document your joy and save it for future generations.